Watching the staff member approach, Ye Xi shook her head involuntarily. In the staff member's eyes, she could not see the spirit a person should have at all; all she could see was deep-seated subservience.
It was as if they were a marionette, knowing only how to complete the tasks assigned by their master.
"These staff members are all slaves trained long-term by the Tian Dou Auction House."
"In the auction house, they are not just staff members but also commodities with clearly marked prices. But you should not think about buying them; doing so would not be saving them."
Xue Qinghe watched the change in Ye Xi's eyes and spoke calmly.
"I know."
"And I have no intention of buying them."
After Ye Xi nodded slightly, she withdrew her gaze from the staff member.
After placing the tray in their hands before them, the staff member left directly to serve pots of tea to other guests in the black and red areas.
Ye Xi and Xue Qinghe turned their gazes toward the stage in front, where the item being auctioned was a storage spirit tool, which was quite precious to commoner Spirit Masters.
After watching for a while, Ye Xi felt a bit bored, so she closed her eyes and began to rest.
Xue Qinghe looked at Ye Xi's appearance, smiled slightly, and did not say anything.
After about two hours, the auction on the stage was nearing its end. When the final item was pushed onto the stage, faint, intermittent sobbing could be heard from the stage.
The red cloth covering the auction item was lifted, first revealing a huge iron cage, and locked inside was a beautiful young girl about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The starting price for the girl was ten thousand gold coins. As soon as the price was announced, the surrounding guests began to bid.
"Twenty thousand gold coins."
Xue Qinghe waved his hand to announce the bid.
Hearing Xue Qinghe announce the price, Ye Xi turned her azure eyes toward him.
"This one can be saved; there is no subservience in her eyes."
Noticing Ye Xi's gaze, Xue Qinghe explained softly.
"Thirty thousand gold coins!"
An arrogant and aggressive voice rang out in the black area.
"Fifty thousand gold coins."
Ye Xi raised her hand and stated her bid.
"Sixty thousand gold coins!"
The arrogant voice rang out again.
"Seventy thousand gold coins."
Ye Xi stated her bid calmly.
After Ye Xi announced the price, the entire auction house gradually fell silent. After all, the staff members trained by the auction house were only worth one hundred thousand gold coins.
Spending seventy thousand gold coins to buy someone who had not received any training was obviously not worth it, so no one continued to raise the price.
Time passed, and just as the staff member was about to announce the owner of the item, that arrogant voice sounded again from the black area.
"Eighty thousand gold coins!"
Hearing the voice, Ye Xi did not hesitate to raise her hand, increasing the price to one hundred thousand.
In the black area, a young man stood up from his seat, reached up to remove the mask from his face, and looked in Ye Xi's direction.
"I want to see who is tired of living, daring to compete with this Prince!"
The arrogant voice echoed continuously throughout the auction house.
"Oh, isn't this the Fourth Prince?"
"Do you have any business?"
Ye Xi turned her head, her azure eyes staring directly at Fourth Prince Xue Beng.
Hearing that somewhat youthful voice, looking at those azure eyes, and the silver hair draped over her back, Xue Beng felt a sense of familiarity, but for a moment, he could not quite place it.
Just as Xue Beng wanted to say something, Ye Xi took off the mask she was wearing and stared quietly at him.
At this moment, Xue Qinghe and Ling Yuan also turned their gazes toward Xue Beng.
Being watched by the gazes of Ye Xi, Xue Qinghe, and Ling Yuan, the arrogance on Xue Beng's face vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle smile.
"Nothing, nothing."
"I had been sitting for a bit too long, my legs went numb, so I stood up to stretch."
As Xue Beng spoke, he silently put his mask back on and sat down again, as if it were not him who had just stood up.
Seeing this, Ye Xi just chuckled and did not say anything more.
Xue Qinghe and Ling Yuan silently withdrew their gazes and also did not speak again.
Soon, a staff member came before Ye Xi and the others, leading them to the back of the auction house to make the payment.
The back of the auction house was a room filled with various collections. After Ye Xi made the payment, the staff member opened the iron cage and released the young girl inside.
"What is your name?"
Ye Xi looked at the girl in front of her and asked softly.
"My name is: Zhong Meng."
Zhong Meng looked at the three people in front of her, her beautiful face stained with slight tear tracks, her eyes filled with panic and fear.
Having been bought like a commodity, she did not know what her future fate would be.
"Zhong Meng, that's a nice name."
Ye Xi waved her hand at Zhong Meng and said softly: "Come with us; from now on, you will be my maid."
"Zhong Meng, I spent one hundred thousand gold coins to buy you. If you serve as my maid, I will pay you ten gold coins a month, and provide food and housing. Once you have paid off the one hundred thousand gold coins, you will not need to be a maid anymore, and I will not interfere with where you want to go."
After saying this, Ye Xi turned around and followed Ling Yuan and Xue Qinghe toward the outside of the auction house.
"Yes, Young Miss."
Zhong Meng looked gratefully at Ye Xi walking in front, and after answering, she quickly followed.
Being a maid, although she would lose her freedom, was still much better than being a commodity in the auction house, left to be bought and sold by others.
"Ye Xi, are you planning to arrange for Zhong Meng to be a maid at the manor?"
Xue Qinghe walked beside Ye Xi and asked softly.
"Yes."
"The manor is so big, and with only me, Tian Yue, and Ling Yuan living there, it's still a bit quiet."
"Hiring a few maids to be responsible for cleaning the manor would be quite nice."
As Ye Xi spoke, she glanced at Zhong Meng, who was following behind.
"For her, this is already a very good life."
"And when I first bid, I was also thinking about buying her back to be a maid."
Xue Qinghe said softly, his gaze glancing calmly at Zhong Meng behind them.
Walking out of the auction house, Ye Xi, Xue Qinghe, and Ling Yuan took Zhong Meng and headed toward the manor.
Upon returning to the manor, Ye Xi sat down in the main hall and looked at Zhong Meng, who was standing in the hall, with her azure eyes.
"Go buy some clothes later, and then find a room in the manor to rest."
"Usually, just being responsible for cleaning the manor will be enough."
As Ye Xi spoke, she took a few gold coins from her storage bracelet and placed them on the table.